Prime Minister

Machinery of Government Change – Government Equalities Office

Mrs Theresa May: This written statement confirms that the Government Equalities Office (GEO) will transfer to the Cabinet Office from 1 April 2019.This Machinery of Government change will provide a permanent home for the GEO, in line with a key recommendation from the Women and Equalities Select Committee in its report earlier this year.It will enable the GEO to better coordinate work across Government, including with the Race Disparity Unit, the Office for Disability Issues, and others, to drive real and meaningful progress on the equalities agenda.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefit and Pension Up-rating 2019/20

Justin Tomlinson: I am pleased to announce the proposed social security benefit and pension rates for 2019/20. I have attached the table of rates to this Statement and I will place a copy of the proposed benefit and pension rates 2019/20 in the House Library. The annual up-rating of benefits will take place for state pensions and most other benefits in the first full week of the tax year. In 2019, this will be the week beginning 8 April. A corresponding provision will be made in Northern Ireland and the Scottish Government will lay its own statutory instruments to make these increases to Carer’s Allowance in Scotland.The annual up-rating process takes into account a variety of measures:The basic and new State Pension will be increased by the Government’s ‘triple lock’ commitment, meaning that they will be up-rated in line with the highest of prices (CPI), earnings or 2.5%. Consequently, they will be up-rated by 2.6% (the May-July Average Weekly Earnings figure).The legislative requirement for the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee is that it is increased at least in line with earnings. This year the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will increase by £4.25 a week for a single person (and £6.45 for a couple). The Pension Credit Savings Credit maximum amount will be increased in line with prices.Benefits linked to the additional costs of disability, and for carers, are increased by the annual rise in prices (2.4%). A number of other elements – including Non-Dependant Deductions – will also be up-rated in line with prices.The majority of working-age benefits have been frozen at their 2015/16 levels for four years under the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.In line with the announcement in the Autumn Budget, Universal Credit Work Allowances will be increased by £1,000 from April 2019. This increase will take effect after the rates are increased by prices. The list of proposed benefit and pension rates also includes a change to the Carer’s Allowance Earnings Rule, which will be increased for 2019/20 from £120 to £123 a week.



Table of Proposed Benefit & Pension Rates 2019/20
(PDF Document, 268.63 KB)





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Ministry of Defence

Contingent Liability

Stuart Andrew: I am today laying a Departmental Minute to advise that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received approval from Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) to recognise a revised contingent liability associated with an Apache Integrated Operational Support contract amendment. The Departmental Minute describes the revised contingent liability that the MOD will hold as a result of signing a contract amendment to the Apache Integrated Operational Support contract. This amendment extends the support to the Apache Helicopter Fleet from 2019 until 2024 and covers the third and final pricing period for the contract. Due to the Apache AH-64E coming into service in 2024 and the need to manage obsolescence issues on the current Mk1 helicopter to ensure a smooth transition for pilots and engineers, the out of service date for the Apache Mk1 has been advanced to 2024. This amendment revises the support contract accordingly. The maximum contingent liability against the MOD for damage at Government premises caused by contractor’s staff is estimated at £18,750,000 and the MOD has an additional exposure value of £2,000,000 for use of the Indemnity Condition 15, Ammunition and Explosives. The contingent liability will remain for the duration of the contract to 2024. Further contingent liabilities for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in software, Third Party IPR, aircraft flight and taxiing, aviation products, and protection against excessive profit and loss fall within MOD and Defence Equipment & Support delegations.  


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Service Complaints Ombudsman’s 2017 Annual Report

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s formal response to the Service Complaints Ombudsman’s (SCO) annual report for 2017 on the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the service complaints system has today been placed in the Library of the House. The Ombudsman’s report commented on the second year of operation of the new service complaints system which was implemented on 1 January 2016 and the work of her office in 2017. The response sets out MOD’s comments and approach to each of the Ombudsman’s new recommendations. The MOD values the strong independent oversight that the Ombudsman brings to the new service complaints process, and remains committed to having a system in which our personnel can have confidence.

Department for Transport

Roads Update

Jesse Norman: I wish to inform the House that the Government is today introducing changes to formal guidance issued to the operators of heavy vehicles. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is publishing a revised Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness, which is the formal guidance for commercial operators and drivers on how to make sure their vehicles are safe to drive. It includes guidance that tyres over 10 years old should not be used on heavy vehicles except in specific, limited circumstances. These changes reinforce guidance previously issued to bus and coach operators and extend it to include goods vehicles. The Government takes road safety seriously and in 2013 the Department for Transport issued guidance about the use of older tyres on buses and coaches. This precautionary guidance encouraged operators to remove any tyre aged 10 years or more from the front, steering axle, of their vehicles. Since that time, the DVSA has been monitoring the age of tyres fitted during annual roadworthiness inspections. Compliance has been good. I reported to the House on 1 March 2018 that the Department for Transport was undertaking research to understand better the effect of age on a tyre’s integrity. I am pleased to report that this research is proceeding well and that I have made additional funds available to extend the number of tyre samples that are being analysed. The report will be available in spring 2019. The DVSA’s priority is to protect everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles. It will start conducting follow up investigations whenever it finds a vehicle operator with a tyre more than 10 years old on its bus, coach, lorry or trailer. If the operator cannot provide an adequate explanation for using an old tyre, or their tyre management systems are not good enough, the DVSA will consider referring them to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. The revision to the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness also includes information to help drivers of high vehicles avoid bridge strikes. Bridge strikes cause significant disruption for the rail network and are often caused by drivers failing to appreciate the height of their vehicle. The revision provides further guidance for drivers to remind them to record the height of their vehicle during their daily walk around checks. By improving guidance in this area, the DVSA aims to see a reduction in disruption to travellers. The Government and the DVSA will continue their commitment to keep Britain’s roads amongst the safest in the world by enforcing legislation, as well as working with industry to provide guidance on vehicle and driver safety.  


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Department of Health and Social Care

Health: Branded Medicines Pricing

Steve Brine: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords) (Lord O'Shaughnessy) has made the following written statement:I am pleased to inform Parliament that agreement has been reached on a Heads of Agreement for a new Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access. The voluntary scheme is an agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care, on behalf of the four UK governments, and the pharmaceutical industry, represented by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).This is an important milestone in the ongoing negotiations. If all proposals in the Heads of Agreement are agreed in a full scheme document, then the new voluntary scheme will operate for five years starting from 1 January 2019. The current voluntary scheme, the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, will end on 31 December 2018.The new voluntary scheme is expected to benefit patients, the NHS and the life sciences industry through delivery of its overarching objectives of improving patient access to medicines, innovation and affordability. If final agreement is reached on the proposals set out in the Heads of Agreement, patients will benefit from faster adoption of clinically and cost-effective medicines so they have access to the best available treatment. The deal is expected to deliver a benefit of £930m next year, to be reinvested into the NHS. The proposals also demonstrate the Government’s commitment to innovation through measures to improve uptake of transformative new medicines, to support small businesses through improved exemptions from the cost control mechanism and targeted case management of commercial discussions with NHS England, and to provide greater commercial flexibility for companies that offer the best value new medicines. In addition, the new voluntary scheme would deliver better value for the NHS by ensuring the branded medicines spend remains within affordable limits through an overall cap on growth on NHS branded medicines sales.Taken together, the new voluntary scheme is expected to support the Government’s commitment to ensuring the UK remains an attractive hub for our world-leading life sciences sector, a central part of the Government’s Industrial StrategyA summary of the Heads of Agreement has been placed in the Library. Further information will be provided as the negotiations progress.


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